


Quest: Family Treasure

by MachineryField



Category: Xenoblade Chronicles
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, During Canon, Gen, inner turmoil
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-04
Updated: 2021-03-04
Packaged: 2021-03-17 16:34:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,419
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29844336
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MachineryField/pseuds/MachineryField
Summary: As Shulk faces inner turmoil, he's asked to find an item for a young child.
Relationships: Fiora & Shulk (Xenoblade Chronicles)
Kudos: 6





	Quest: Family Treasure

**Author's Note:**

> A rewrite of an older fic!

Shulk runs over the checklist in the journal again. Their bags were packed, they were as physically prepared as possible for the Mechonis, and anything not directly  _ on  _ the Mechonis was done. It looks like it was time to move forward, towards Egil.

He looks at the rest of the group. “Well, looks like there’s no more delaying it.”

“Yeah.” Fiora gives him a gentle smile. “Let’s go, we have things to do.”

They’re heading for the exit of the Village once again when a child bumps right into Shulk with their pod, stopping him in his tracks. They look small, shy, probably younger than the other children he’s jotted down on the affinity chart already.

“Um, sorry! I just needed to ask you a question…” They swivel about a bit. “If you’re going to Mechonis you might go to the capital, right?”

Shulk nods. “Well, yeah, that’s right. You used to live there, didn’t you?”

“Not really.” They shake their head. “See, I was born, uh, after everyone left. My family used to live their, though! So, uh, I was hoping you could go to their home and bring me something?”

“A piece of family to keep close, huh?” Fiora runs her hand over the strange protrusion on her chest again. “...I think I can understand wanting to have something like that.”

Shulk nods, in a way, that’s what the Monado is for him. The last piece of his parents that he has -- the only thing to remember them by. He wonders if this child’s lost someone too, and if it’ll be the same for them…

“Sure.” He finally speaks. “We can see if we can find anything.”

“Thank you!” The child perks up at that. “Um, their house was the biggest in Residential District 2, at least that’s what Papa says!”

“Got it.” Shulk nods. “We’ll see what we can do, so just wait for us, okay?”

\--

**Menyx**

  
  


_ Location:  _ Fallen Arm Area

  
  


_ Personality: _ Quiet and Withdrawn

  
  


_ Time Active: _ 6:00 - 11:00

  
  


_ Gender: _ None

  
  


_ Age: _ 750

  
  


_ Usual Spot:  _ Junks

\--

**Family Treasure**

_ Requested by: _ Menyx

Menyx is a young Machina who never had a chance to see life in Agniratha. They would like an item made by a family member as a connection to the capital. Find a handmade trinket in their family’s old home.

\--

Agniratha is eerie, and Shulk isn’t sure he’ll ever get used to it. It reminds him of Alcamoth, in a way, and he thinks it was once just as bustling. Bustling before the Telethia came and Zanza attacked them…

He swallows hard as Fiora comes to a stop in front of what must be Menyx’s family home. Nothing else is quite as large in this area, so it has to be. She looks at the rest of the group and nods before opening the door with a creak.

It looks abandoned, that’s for certain. There’s a layer of dust on everything, left as it had been so many years ago. It was hard to look at, to imagine what the family had been doing before they had to abandon their home and move to the Fallen Arm.

He sees items dropped on the floor, glasses filled with stale water sitting on countertops, half-finished projects sitting on desks… So much abandoned without a moment’s notice… It reminds him of the forgotten projects sitting in the weapon’s development lab, left since the attack on Colony 9.

Shulk runs a hand across a desk, the dust gathering on his finger tip. It’s rusted, he notes, under all the dust. It’s all abandoned, all decaying slowly but surely, with no one to care for it.

It makes his heart ache.

“Hey.” Fiora approaches, holding up what looks to be some sort of pin. “I found this, do you think it’s handmade?”

It’s a gear with soft orange lights that remind Shulk of Vanea’s in the center. It seems to have been carefully pieced together, perhaps even somewhat recently if that was even possible. It definitely doesn’t seem mass produced, though…

“I think it is.” Shulk carefully places it in his pack. “We’ll give this to Menyx when we’re back on the Fallen Arm, then.”

Fiora nods. “Yeah, sounds good. Back to it, then?”

“We still need to activate the teleporter, yeah… No point in continuing to delay it. Vanea may be talking to Egil as we speak.”

They leave the house, and Shulk spares it only one more glance.

\--

Agniratha had fallen under them, destroyed by the wave of power released when Egil made his way to the Core… Shulk feels sick to his stomach, unsure of what to do next. They’ll have to face him in the Core, that much is certain, but what then? Will it finally culminate in his death, as Miqol has asked for?

A piece of Shulk is screaming for that, to sever Egil’s head and end this all. For Fiora, for the Emperor, for Gadolt… No more of this, no  _ more _ . 

But another piece tells him not to, that that’s not the way. Violence will beget more violence -- Egil’s become a monster because he wants to stop a bigger one. Wasn’t Shulk in that position once? Willing to be a monster to stop the one breathing down the necks of Homs? What separated him from Egil -- from a man who wanted to stop a being that breathed down the necks of Machina?

He holds the pin he found in his hands and prepares to give it to Menyx. When that’s done, they’ll head for the Core. There’d be no more delaying and he would have to make his choice about what to do. Kill Egil, or try to reach out to him again.

As he stares, he feels uncertain of what the right answer is.

“Shulk.” Vanea speaks, her voice curious. “What’s that you’re holding?”

“Oh, a pin.” He shows it to her and watches as a look of familiarity crosses her face. “Any idea who made it?”

“...I saw Egil making it, and quite recently.” She pauses. “Just why were you in our home, Shulk?”

“Menyx asked me to get them something from the home, they said their father stated the largest out in the second residential district was theirs and…” He trails off pathetically. “Sorry.”

“Menyx…” Vanea sighs, shaking her head. “No, it’s fine. It may do that child good to have something from Egil.”

Shulk pauses for a moment. “Are they related?”

“We’re all siblings.”

Shulk nods and wonders what he’ll say to the child.

\--

Menyx squeals happily as they take the item from Shulk, Fiora holding them outside of their pod so they can actually use their hands to fidget with it a bit. Shulk is glad they seem happy, and he hopes what he’s about to say doesn’t upset them.

“Your brother made it.” He says. “Vanea said it would do you some good to have something he made, so…”

“Oh.” They seem to shrink into themself a bit. “...Really? Egil made this?”

Fiora gasps. “You’re related to Egil?”

Menyx nods. “He’s my big brother, even if he doesn’t know it.”

“...How do you feel about him, Menyx? Egil, I mean.” Shulk doesn’t know why he asks, maybe to try and find an answer to the questions rushing through his head, but he does.

“...I think he must be really sad, but he’s done bad things…” Menyx fiddles with the pin more. “I want him to stop, and realize how bad he’s being. I want him to say sorry and fix it, but Papa says what he’s done would require a lot to even start fixing it.”

“Well, he’s not fully wrong, but Machina live long lives.” Fiora says. “If we can drag him bum out of the Core, he’ll have plenty of years to start making up for all that’s happened.”

Shulk furrows his brow. “So you want to bring him back alive, Fiora?”

Fiora nods. “Maybe it’s because all that Meyneth’s showed me, but… He was loved for a reason, Shulk. If the man that was so loved is still in there, I think we need to reach out to him.”

“Even if he doesn’t listen, like in Agniratha?”

“I’ll just keep yelling until he listens, I guess.” Fiora gives him a smile. “For his sake, and for his siblings.”

All Shulk can do is nod, nod and think on what she’s said.

\--

Menyx now has a hairpin made by their brother. The link of siblings seems to transcend even the highest of barriers.

  
  



End file.
